Happy Birthday Avery!

This week Avery celebrated her 9th birthday. I really cannot believe that I have been a mom for 9 years. Wow, it's amazing how fast time flies! It's the old cliche that you always hear, but how true it is. The years are fleeting and the time that we have with our children while they are still children are so few. It will take me a little while to realize that Avery is not a little girl anymore, but is becoming a young lady. We had such a great time celebrating the day that she came into our lives.

This year I have really tried to take the time and use all of the crafting supplies that I own to make more hand-made cards and treats for gift giving. I really enjoy doing what I can to add a personal touch. I found this gift bag and I thought it suited Avery's personality well. I also chose this bag because I thought making a card to go with it would be simple and fun. After punching a few circles and stamping the gifts in coordinating colors, I had a matching card that I was very pleased with.
Since the girls have a joint birthday party, we started a tradition of taking them out to dinner on their actual birthday. This allows both of the girls some individual attention on their special day. Avery chose to have her dinner at Olive Garden. We went to Olive Garden last year and it was pouring down rain...it poured down rain this time too! I hope we're not starting a pattern here! Avery loved having the staff sing their version of "Happy Birthday" to her. I do have to say Avery graciously handed over her ice cream to Cooper in exchange for a slice of the Black Tie Moose Cheesecake, which she shared with Brenna. I call that a win, win, win situation!
When we asked Avery for some gift ideas, she was very specific. It was either and iPod or a Nintendo DS. Avery is not one to ask for very extravagant gifts, but this year was different. At first I was like, no way, I don't even own one! But then, she really enjoys listening to music and I know that she would get a lot of use out of it. After Tony found an amazing deal for a brand new one on Craigslist, I couldn't hold out anymore. When she opened it, she said "my very own iPod!?" very loudly. It was really fun to see her so excited about her gift.
Tony had to give her a short tutorial on how to operate the little gadget, but she got the hang of it rather quickly. Youngin's catch on so much quicker that us old folks do.
The girls rockin' out to Johnny Cash and High School Musical music.

Peace Out!